I have no experiencing grafting Mugo ..but just wanted to give you something else to consider.

Where this tree is situated, it looks like you can give it all the sun it might want. Ideally, you can provide for its water needs as well, ...especially if its in a free-draining soil. Why not fertilize it heavily and see if you can get buds to pop all over? I'd expect you'd be able to get pretty good backbudding during the time it takes for this tree to recover from collection.

Good luck in your efforts, whatever you decide. Keep us posted! (That's code for "take lots of pictures!")

That is what I heard Ryan Neil say in his lecture kn pines earlier this year. Cut back new growth on sjngle flush pines after it hardens of to promote back budding. This wil be negative for the development of the roots?

With any and every specie of tree, back budding is induced by cutting back the season's new growth after it has hardened (meaning new leaves are like old ones instead of being soft, fleshy, and lightly colored). The tree, and its roots in particular, should have had a significant part of the season to have grown before you do this, if you want a robustly growing tree. Typically the season's new growth on a pine is cut back in Oct/Nov (temperate zones of the northern hemisphere).

It is that simple, but can easily made more complicated - fascinating things, plants, but especially trees.

Yes, the science says that if you remove the terminal growth the auxin that inhibits latent buds will be removed. Blindly repeating the last line of a recipe doesn't make for a good cake. I much prefer to begin with the first line of the recipe, start with a healthy tree (feed aggressively).

Let's explore the practice as it relates to bonsai and to pines in general.

Removing growth from a weak and/or newly collected tree you will merely weaken it further. However, aggressively feeding pine trees will produce enough energy that latent buds will be activated.

What happens if the new buds that formed were too weak, or appeared in the wrong places? Oh crap, you removed all the candles so I guess bud grafting is out. All the leggy branches are now weak and when you try to bend them back on themselves to approach graft they snap. Not only that, but you slowed them down significantly so for the ones you are able to bend thickening will be slowed, and therefore the success rate is much lower.

On top of all that, this tree is recently collected. Let the tree recover. Let this years growth develop to produce and feed new roots.

Seems like everyone is saying the same but in a different way.For the remainder of the year I'll be feeding and watering it.Next year, if it grows well I'll go and work on back budding by pruning back new growth.

I would approach graft if possible. If your branches are breaking try wiring them down to the point of graft. I have done a few mugos like that but they were still in the ground. Left for 2years and all worked. Maybe plant back into ground and then approach graft. Should work. Make sure tree is very healthy. Good luck.